Roma assemble in Náchod, Czech Republic: We want peace and safety for our children and the entire town, we're not against Ukrainians
Dozens of Romani people assembled today on Masarykovo náměstí [Masaryk Square] in Náchod, Czech Republic out of concern for their safety. A young Romani man was recently lightly injured during an altercation in the town. The peaceful assembly lasted roughly one hour and was convened by the grandmother of the victim with the aid of the Roma spolek Náchod civic association.
The grandmother of the youth who was assaulted opened the assembly by appealing for calm. “I am asking one thing of you all, that everything take place calmly and peacefully. We are calm, we can speak with each other here. This is about our children and grandchildren. This is our town, we live here, we grew up here, we had our parents here and we are following in their footsteps,” she said. “One of us has been attacked, he was my grandson, and we hope that will never be repeated.”
The assault on the Romani youth happened on Sunday 3 November around 2 AM, when a verbal exchange led to a physical attack. “As a consequence of the assault, a 20-year-old man suffered light injuries which required hospital treatment,” said police spokesperson Karolína Macháčková, adding that police are investigating the case as one of suspected rioting and battery. “We published an alert that we are looking for witnesses, we will investigate everything.”
According to Roman Samko of Roma spolek Náchod, who described the situation to news server Romea.cz, the incident transpired after the 20-year-old was going home from a party. As he proceeded past a group of about six or seven men of Ukrainian nationality, he made eye contact with a girl who was with the group. One of the men then asked him for a cigarette, which the youth gave him. However, one of the men then said something to him in a foreign language that he didn’t understand, but believed was an insult. “He turned around, said he’d given him a cigarette so they should leave him alone, and it was then that one of the men is said to have physically assaulted him,” Samko told news server Romea.cz.
Romani speakers: Our assembly is not against all Ukrainians
The assembly transpired in an atmosphere of mutual support and solidarity with the victim of the incident. Another relative of the victim addressed those assembled and expressed his fear that such attacks could be repeated: “It’s not possible that somebody, whether they are an ordinary person or anybody else, can’t just buy cigarettes at a gas station in safety. I ask you, sincerely, where are we?” he said to the crowd, adding that he does not want Romani children to be in danger.
During the assembly, the Romani residents repeated more than once that their gathering decidedly was not a protest against Ukrainians in general. On the contrary, calls were heard for respect between the communities, such as the call formulated, for example, by Miroslav Varga. “We are not judging the whole Ukrainian community but those who cause problems,” he said. Varga said he is against all forms of bias or generalization and stressed that the event was not focused against a nationality, but against violence and the disruption of public order.
Attempt to abuse the assembly to spark anti-Ukrainian sentiment is unsuccessful
Some speakers did their best to exploit the gathering to spark anti-Ukrainian sentiment. However, several Romani women and men gathered on Masarykovo náměstí did not like what they heard and said so.
For example, a women spoke to the assembly who introduce herself as the founder of a community on a social media network called Náchodské dění bez cenzury [Náchod News Without Censorship]. She did her best to invite local Roma to join a demonstration on the state holiday of 17 November for which the aim allegedly will be to tear the Ukrainian flag off of the National Museum in Prague. “Coming up in Prague on 17 November there will be an attempt to remove the Ukrainian flag, but we need your support. If anybody wants to join I can send you the exact date and time, we would like to meet up with you there,” the woman said in her speech, but voices of disagreement were heard from the crowd.
“Young lady, this is not about a Ukrainian flag. This is about one specific case, we’re not discussing Ukraine as a whole. We don’t get mixed up with politics, this is about safety, that’s what we are addressing here today,” a Romani man told the woman.
Another person who did his best to get the local Roma angry at Ukrainians was the famous anti-Ukrainian activist Štefan Bartók. He made no secret in his speech of the fact that he used to not like Roma. What’s more, he spoke of them as “gypsies” in his speech, which several people very much disliked. “Now we have Ukrainians here who should appreciate that they are getting all the support. We have a Ukrainian government, president and prime minister…” Bartók thundered, but he was interrupted.
“We aren’t here because of politics. Get to the point! We aren’t politicians. We’re here for something else. By the way, I don’t like it when somebody calls us gypsies. We’re Roma!” people shouted from the crowd in response to his words.
Bartók is a former police officer who claims to have worked for special response units. He has not worked for the police for a long time. During the COVID-19 pandemic he attacked the Government of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and the anti-pandemic measures. Now he is bothered by the Government of Prime Minister Petr Fiala and is spreading anti-Ukrainian and Russian propaganda.
Female Ukrainian students express solidarity with the Roma
At the end of the gathering, two female Ukrainian students also spoke, expressing regret for the incident and saying that they were just as upset about the safety situation as the Romani community. “We have Romani friends and we condemn the behavior of those who are responsible for such incidents,” the students said.
The assembly was ended by singing the Czech and the Romani anthems. The organizers thanked people for coming and emphasize that they would be following how police continue the investigation in the weeks to come. According to the organizers, they will be continuing to strive for safety, not just for their own children, but for all residents of the town.
Policie: The assembly was absolutely calm
Both plainclothes and uniformed police officers surveilled the assembly. “We are monitoring the event to make sure it runs smoothly. Our aim is to protect everybody present,” the Regional Police spokesperson said ahead of the assembly. “Public order was not disrupted,” she reported when the event was over.
Last year tensions arose in part of the Romani community after the death of a Romani man who died during a scuffle at the Brno Reservoir. A man originally from Ukraine was charged with murder and faced up to 18 years in prison in connection with the case. The Regional Court in Brno acquitted him in March with the explanation that he had not committed a felony, but had acted in self-defense.
